Nov. 23, 1963 - A grim-faced Premier Nikita Khrushchev today led most of the Communist world in offering condolences to the United States on the death of President Kennedy. Khrushchev personally expressed his sorrow by calling at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and signing the condolence register. He termed the assassination “heinous.” Most other Communist bloc leaders joined Khrushchev in expressing regret. Red China and Albania were two notable exceptions. Soviet First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan will fly to the U.S. for the funeral. Following are the texts, as made available by Soviet press agency TASS, of messages from Premier Khrushchev and Mrs. Khrushchev to Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy.
From Mr. Khrushchev: “It was with deep personal grief that I learned about the tragic death of your husband, President of the United States John F. Kennedy. All people who knew him greatly respected him, and I shall always keep the memory of my meetings with him. Accept my most sincere condolences and expressions of wholehearted sympathy with your grievous bereavement.”
From Mrs. Khrushchev: “Shocked by the tragic death of your husband, the President of the United States John F. Kennedy, I ask you to accept at this hour of sorrow my sincere condolences and sympathy with you and your entire family.”
